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12/14/09
A couple of days ago I was lucky enough to tick another item off my list. I have always wanted to go wine tasting in NapaValley. In fact, I always want to go wine tasting anywhere, but Napa in particular was one location which I felt was important to visit. Fortunately for me I have some friends based in San Francisco at the moment so I was lucky enough to have an excuse to fly over to the West Coast, not to mention accommodation and tour guides to boot. My friend Dave and I flew over together, and we were housed by our generous host Lopez. Having flown in Thursday night and headed straight to the pub, I wasn’t sure how wine tasting would go down for me at midday on Friday. The flight and time difference had knocked me around a little, more so due to a beautifully timed sinus infection and antibiotics course. However if there is one thing I’ve learned as an Aussie, it’s how to soldier on and continue to drink and party - no matter what challenges lie ahead or how awful you may feel.
Our first winery was Pine Ridge, where we were treated on arrival to a lovely glass of Chenin Blanc-Viognier. Our tour guide Chris took us through the entire winery, showing us the different vines, the various storage and bottling rooms, and taking us through the caves where all the barrels are housed. We had the chance to try quite a number of reds, and we were even treated to some cheese and crackers. After sampling the winery’s most expensive red, we headed off for some lunch.
The next winery we visited was Domaine Chandon. Here we were treated to a number of different champagnes, all of which I loved since I have a very soft spot for bubbly. By the time we’d had our fill here it was getting late and we had to get back to the city to get the nights adventures started. I left Napa valley a very satisfied (and perhaps tipsy) girl.
